Calgary city council’s new committee to oversee the Olympic process was christened Tuesday afternoon as it held its first meeting.
The seven-member group, which includes six councillors and the mayor, elected Evan Woolley as chair. Woolley promises open and transparent meetings but admits there will be times they go behind closed doors.
“Financial negotiations, dealing with land, dealing with assets and dealing with personnel issues…While we are going to be running an incredibly open and transparent process, there are times we need to go in-camera and I think Calgarians can appreciate that.”
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said he sees the committee more as a working group with a lot of closed-door talks.
“A whole bunch of the work of this committee has to be in closed session, understanding that council makes the decision,” he said. “So everything comes to council and we’ll have big, riotous debates at council anyway.”
Councillor Peter Demong, who has voted no every time the Olympics have come up, says he will have an open mind sitting on the committee and hopes those who support the process do the same if there is negative information. He hopes the committee answers an important question for him:
“What does Calgary want from the Olympics? I’ve heard a number of different answers to that–whether it be legacy, whether it be infrastructure…I don’t know how to answer that.”
The committee dealt with its terms of reference and city administration timelines and work plans Tuesday. On June 5, the city will get an IOC host city contract, including requirements that are needed. City council should also get more financial numbers at that time, to provide a better idea of costs. Council could decide at that point to pull the plug on the Olympic dream if it wants.
Another so-called off-ramp will come in October, when a multi-party agreement will have been worked out that will include more financial numbers between the federal, provincial and municipal governments.
The committee meets again in two weeks when a discussion is expected on a public hearing on the Olympic process, something Councillor Druh Farrell says needs to hear from all sides.
“How do we ensure there is balance in debate–that we hear pros and cons?” she asked.
City manager Jeff Fielding says he senses anxiety from councillors to have some fun in the process.
“This is a great process to engage the communities about the future of the city of Calgary and what it can mean on a worldwide stage,” he said. “To this point what we’ve done is actually ground ourselves to a point where everyone is afraid to touch the damn ball.”
Comments